Danica Patrick officially announced Thursday she would make a full-time move to NASCAR beginning in 2012. The move puts her in a Nationwide Series car for JR Motorsports for the whole of the season and select Cup races with Stewart Haas. She’ll She may make her Cup debut at next year’s Daytona 500. The announcement ended years [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Driver Development’
The Danica Mystique
August 26th, 2011 
Journo Kligerman Quietly Making Progress
August 30th, 2010 T.C. Roger Penske may have yet another star in the making in the person of young Parker Kligerman. While everyone focuses on the continued presence of Cup drivers in Nationwide, and other prospects like Trevor Bayne, Kligerman has been quietly racing and finishing well. So far this season, Kligerman has only seven starts in the Nationwide [...]
Roush’s Continued Developmental Commitment
May 25th, 2010 Journo A few months ago I wrote a post lauding Roush’s developmental commitment even through sponsorship adversity. I said Roush’s commitment to Colin Braun and to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was evident in its continued support of two underfunded teams. And I applauded the man (Jack Roush) and the team (Roush Fenway) for giving chances to those [...]
Two Young Guns Get Big Wins On Sunday
May 23rd, 2010 T.C. Even though the top three NASCAR series were off on Sunday, there was no shortage of racing going on. At Iowa Speedway, the annual East/West showdown between the two K&N Pro Series took place, and the ARCA cars descended on Toledo Speedway for the first of two events this season. At Iowa, Joe Gibbs Racing development [...]
New Nationwide COT Will Widen Gap Between Cup Drivers and NNS Regulars
May 20th, 2010 T.C. The Dayonta test for the new Nationwide Series COT is complete. Teams took to the 2.5 mile track on Tuesday and Wednesday to get familiar with the new car and to help NASCAR gather data ahead of it’s debut on July 2nd at the Subway Jalapeno 250. Most of the drivers who participated said the car [...]
Posted in Driver Development, NASCAR News 
Tags: Busch Whackers, Camry, challenger, COT, Cup, Daytona, Driver Development, Impala, Mustang, Nationwid Series, pony cars, test 
10 Comments »Yo, Matt DiBenedetto, Shake It Off Kid
September 27th, 2009 T.C. If you were watching Nationwide Series practice on Friday, you would have no doubt seen Matt DiBenedetto (Joe Gibbs Racing developmental driver) climb into Denny Hamlin’s #20 and help the team shake it down. DiBenedetto had just set a new track record in qualifying for the Camping World East Series race and Hamlin wanted to focus on [...]
With Brad K., Hendrick Comes Out Smelling Like a Rose
August 26th, 2009 Journo This past weekend it was all but confirmed that Brad Keselowski would make his way to Penske Racing next season most likely replacing the struggling David Stremme. This came after a season of speculation about Keselowski’s future with JR Motorsports and Hendrick Motorsports. Hendrick of course spent much of the summer trying to figure out [...]
Young Drivers Trying To Weather Economic Storm
July 20th, 2009 T.C. Recently here at TNI, you’ve seen us profile a few young drivers and some driver development programs. It seems that because of some of the topics dominating the current headlines that the young, upstart drivers often have their stories pushed to the back burner. And it’s these younger guys that need the exposure as they are suffering the most because of the economic downturn. [...]
Penske’s Developmental Prospects
July 20th, 2009 Journo A few weeks ago I highlighted the developmental successes of Roush Fenway Racing. This week I was reminded of another team diligently working on some developmental standouts. On Saturday, for the fourth time in a row and the fifth time this season, Penske development driver Parker Kligerman won in the ARCA Re/Max Series. Driving for [...]
Posted in Driver Development Tags: ARCA, Driver Development, Frank Kimmel, Justin Allgaier, Parker Kligerman, Penske Racing, roush fenway 1 Comment »Is Running The Nationwide Series Full Time Hurting Cup Drivers?
July 15th, 2009 T.C. One of the many problems facing NASCAR going forward is what to do with the Nationwide Series. In recent years it has become a Saturday playground for Cup drivers, and because of this, the series’ developmental mentality and identity have gone away. What was once a place for young drivers to get noticed is now dominated [...]
